Avatar Drabbles
by whirleeq
Summary: Just a bunch of drabbles, all between 100 and 600 words, various themes and pairings. 1,2 are AxK, 3 is ZxK, 4 is ZhaoxZula, 5 is AU, 6 is dark ZxK, 7 is ZxA, 8 is AxK, 9 is AxK, 10 is ZxK, 11 Zuko, 12 AxK, 13 Xover, 14 Kx? AU, 15 ZxA, 16 A & Zula, 17 Z..
1. He Needs Her

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nick.

Drabble #1: He needs her  
Word Count: 211  
Pairing: AxK

* * *

He holds her against him. His embrace is warm; it always is, and she's comforted by it. 

She knows he's going to leave in the morning. There's another city – another conflict, one that only he can resolve. And she's okay with that, because he needs her.

She doesn't ask anything from him, and for that he is grateful. He's already given away far too much.

He kisses her, and she melts.

She doesn't know when she started loving him. She's been by his side for nearly half her life.

For him, it was when he first opened his eyes after a hundred years of sleep, but he'll never tell her that. He can't. He's not supposed to love her, so he never speaks of his feelings. She's okay with that as well, since words are transient and insubstantial. The slight tremor that passes through his body when he kisses her, the way he reverently whispers her name when they make love, and the way he holds her tightly afterwards as if fearful that she'll be gone when he wakes up is all very, very real.

He knows he should let her go, knows that he's hurting her by keeping her his secret, but he needs her.

And she's okay with that.


	2. Rain

Drabble #2: Rain  
Word Count: 512.  
Pairing: Minor A/K fluff

* * *

"It will rain tonight." Katara stated simply. She felt happy and at ease, as she drew comfort from the cool breeze whipping through her hair and the warmth of Appa's soft fur. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Aang on a whim; an action that she might have refrained from had Sokka also been riding upon the back of the giant air bison with them. But he was back at camp and searching for firewood, and so she did not have to fear his teasing her about her ever-growing affection for the young Avatar. 

The young monk sighed and leaned back slightly into her embrace, wishing silently that he wasn't the avatar and that he was just a boy enjoying an embrace from a girl that he liked. In the guarded part of his mind where he kept the few hopes and dreams he dared to hold on to, he could see the rest of his life happy and filled with such moments with Katara. If he was just a normal boy, he'd have shared his feelings with her; perhaps he even would have turned and attempted to place a shy kiss upon her lips. But he was not just a normal boy. He was the Avatar.

They had been fighting to regain the balance between the elements for almost a year now, and the Avatar was weary. As such, the moments of peace and serenity that he experienced were fewer and further between nowadays, and most always associated with the beautiful dark haired girl behind him. So Aang took a moment to savor the feel of her chest rising and falling against him, as well as the warmth of her soft breath as it ghosted against the back of his neck, sending pleasurable tingles down his spine and warming his often troubled heart. He took a deep breath and looked up, in doing so resting the back of his head against her shoulder. Appa was high enough so that they were above the range of the archers aboard the scattered fire nation vessels that peppered the seas below, yet low enough so that they were beneath the few small clouds that slightly obscured the waning sun. The clouds were white and sparse and were not indicative of an oncoming storm, but like Katara he could sense the increasing precipitation in the air, as the warm air met the cool waters of the sea below, the two elements working in tandem to affect change.

Aang allowed his grip upon Appa's reigns to slacken slightly before finally giving into his impulse and dropping them all together. Katara turned her head to look at him questioningly. He locked gazes with her, and in her dusky blue eyes found promises of both gentle rains and fierce storms. He placed his hands on hers and weaved their fingers together. A small smile broke out across his face when he saw a delicate rosy blush tint her normally dark complexion.

"That's not a bad thing," Aang said, his tone wistful. "It should rain more often."


	3. Beauty

Drabble #3: Beauty  
Word Count: 140.  
Pairing: Hints of Z/K

* * *

He looks at the necklace in his hand and frowns. He should leave it where he found it - what need does he have for such paltry baubles? 

Still...

He lifts it up towards his face, squinting his good eye just a little to examine it. It is a simple piece, not at all elaborate like the jewelry his mother once wore. Zula probably wears his mother's jewelry now, and a part of him hates her for it.

He clutches the necklace just a little bit tighter. The gem stone within is a pale blue, reminding him of the ocean and the eyes of that water tribe girl who follows the Avatar. For a moment, he wonders why she does and then he tells himself it doesn't matter. He has no need for beauty.

But he pockets the necklace anyway.


	4. Again

Drabble #4: Again  
Word Count: 248  
Pairing: Hints of Zula/Zhao

* * *

"Again."

It is a simple word, yet for her it means another hour of training. She narrows her eyes at him and he smirks.

"Ready to give up already? I thought as much."

She glares at him, even as she's getting into position. Without waiting for him to nod, she lunges. Her movements are swift, her kick is high, and her flame is hot. Still, he easily blocks her. Angry now, she lunges again – and misses just as spectacularly. Her face is twisted into an expression of hate and for the next set of kicks and punches she is a torch –

Yet she finds herself up against an inferno. She's knocked onto her back, all of her limbs pinned by his weight and he smirks at her, his eyes filled with triumph and mockery.

She hates him, and the fire inside burns hotter.

He leans over, and whispers something into her ear, his hot breath ghosting over the side of her neck and she shivers.

"There is no room in my army for pampered little girls, princess."

With a great cry, she throws him off of her and jumps to her feet, her eyes filled with fury and malevolence

He sees it, and his smile widens, making her hate him all the more. She opens her mouth to say something scathing, but he cuts her off with a simple word; one that she's increasingly growing to detest almost as much as the man in front of her.

"_Again."_


	5. Forsaken

Drabble #5: Forsaken  
Word Count: 138  
Pairing: None  
Notes: A/U; a modern day Avatar.

* * *

It began with the fevers. They took her to the best medical specialists in the world. 

And then she learned to levitate objects in the air. They took her to the psychics, to the faith healers.

When she claimed that she could make it rain, they sent her to a psychiatrist.

And when they gave her the first of a series of shock treatments, the ground shook.

She's an adult now, and the world is at war. The streets are filled with doomsdayers, speaking their apocalyptic views to whoever will listen. As one, the world cries for a savior.

She hears their cries, even as she reaches in her purse with a shaky hand to grasp the bottle of white pills that silence them.

The world's savior has long been forsaken, and their cries fall on deaf ears.

* * *

A/N: One of my reviewers asked if I knew that Zulu was a 15. The answer is, yep! Fully aware of it... but c'mon, which one of you can honestly say that you don't/didn't have a crush on an older man at some point - even if an actor? The whole point to the last drabble was that she was crushing on him... and hated him for it ;). Besides, given the fact that they are modeling the Fire Nation after feudal Japan/China, as a fifteen year old girl she could very easily be married off to one of his father's advisors. Not unheard of :). 

And yes, I think Zhao is yummy... but I'm probably at least a decade and a half older than most of you anyway :).


	6. The Cost of Honor

Drabble #6: The cost of honor.   
Word Count: 164  
Pairing: Z/K  
Notes: Dark, A/U

* * *

It has been three years since he regained his honor. 

Sometimes he visits the cell where they keep the boy. He can always be found slumped against the wall, his body frail and his spirit broken. The boy is silent; he has no more tears to give, and there are no more words left for him to say. His once expressive grey eyes are blank now, and the shackles that used to bind him have long been removed.

It is despair that binds him now.

"I needed my honor," He tells himself afterwards, as he seeks out the bright blue eyes of the one who helped him get it. She smiles and wraps her arms around him, whispers words of comfort in his ear and for just a moment, he forgets.

But at night when he lies next to her, he can no longer hear the uniform beating of her heart.

The boy's silence echoes through his head, and the sound of it is deafening.

* * *

a/n: yes, I know katara is OOC; don't care...  



	7. The Cost of Honor: Revisited

Drabble #7: The cost of honor: revisited  
Word Count: 125  
Pairing: Z/A  
Notes: Fluffy, implied slash/shonen-ai

* * *

It's been over for three years now. 

The people are happy; there are no more battles, no more boundaries. The new world now looks to him as a symbol of a hope, a beacon of change.

Never in his years of banishment did he think that those words would ever apply to him.

Sometimes he wonders if it was worth it. His father, Zula, Zhao… gone. His honor…

And then a slender pair of arms wrap around his waist, the gentle warmth of the embrace banishing his demons.

He turns and finds himself caught by a pair of deep grey eyes, filled with mischief, love and above all hope and he knows he made the right decision.

The cost of honor was just too high.

* * *

a/n: sorry, I just liked the cost of honor theme so much that I felt the need to swing it the other way… (er, no pun intended LOL) 


	8. Love

Drabble: Love  
Words: 288  
Warning: Angsty. This one is definitely rated M; a bit of a follow up to the first drabble (he needs her), a few years later from Aang's POV  
Pairing: A/K

* * *

He knows what love is. 

After all, he has felt it many times in many lives in all its many forms.

But never quite like this.

Blue eyes seek his, mirroring his own heart and he swallows. In the darkness of the hut, he takes her into his arms, his lips easily finding hers, his hands mapping out the soft curves of a body that he knows almost as well as his own. They shouldn't come together like this, she knows it as well as he does, but they've loved each other for far too long to deny the flame that burns between them. They fall backwards together in the darkness, their names falling off each others lips in soft, hesitant whispers, and together they kindle the flame between them into an inferno. When she cries out his name, he forgets everything but her, and for a moment, the world is perfect.

He knows what love is.

In the early morning while it is still dark, he leaves with only the memory of her touch and soft skin, dashing out like a thief in the night so that he can avoid running into her husband -- the mild earth bender who may have her hand, but will never hold her heart.

He returns to his life as the world's savior and tries to forget the yearnings of his heart. It cuts him deeper than the sharpest sword, knowing that their love must be kept secret. It goes against everything he's ever been taught, his duty as the Avatar, his responsibility to the world.

And yet he can't bring himself to give her up.

He knows what love is… but he wishes it didn't have to hurt quite so much.

* * *

And here I go again with the Aang angst :). I can't help but torture the boy... :) 


	9. Hope

Drabble: Hope  
Words: 185  
Pairing: A/K (yes, by now I'm sure that you've guessed that A/K is my OTP… but Z/A runs a close second ;) )

* * *

It isn't duty, destiny, or drive that keeps him on the path that he walks. It isn't the words of an incarnation of his past life, nor is it the threat of doom that hangs over them that keeps him focused, keeps him seeking.

It isn't the threat of capture or death, either. It seems that he has always been on the run in some form, and what does he have to fear from death? He's faced it many times before.

No. What keeps him learning new ways to bend the elements, what makes him formidable and what gives him strength is the few carefree moments he spends in her company, hearing her laugh, seeking her bright blue eyes with his own.

It is _hope _that makes him the Avatar.

He knows she doesn't love him, not the way that he loves her and he knows that she sees him only as a child, but just as she has hope that he can put the world back the way it used to be, he has hope that one day she'll see him as something more.

* * *


	10. Dusk

Drabble: Dusk  
Word Count: 124  
Pairing: Z/K

Yay for the fluffy Zutara... :)

* * *

Sometimes, when the calm seas surround them as far as the eye can see, they stand together on the deck of his ship and watch the sunset, hand in hand.

For the few precious moments that the sun seems to touch the edge of the water, the colors are brighter, more vivid and together, they revel in that moment of peace. Together, they watch as the bright ball of flame disappears beneath the dark blue waters on the horizon.

The kiss that they share is like the fire lapping at the water, gentle as the setting sun. They know that it is forbidden for fire and water to mix, yet they are both willing to sacrifice everything for the fleeting beauty of the dusk.

* * *


	11. Crossroads

Drabble: Crossroads  
Word Count: 300   
Pairing: N/A -- Zuko centric  
Summary: There are moments in life that determine who you are... spoilers for 'The Storm'

* * *

Zuko looked to the sky with a frown, trying not to squint, watching as the Avatar rode his giant flying bison into the eye of the storm. He could follow. He _should_ follow – the boy was within reach for the first time in weeks. There was no doubt in his mind that it would only take one fireball to bring him down, since the bison was too distracted by the storm and the Avatar's visibility was nil. It would only require him heading back into the storm for maybe one, maybe two minutes tops. 

And then the Avatar would be _his_.

He looked to his uncle and then to his men. While his uncle's cool demeanor did not betray anything, the men looked fearful of the raging storm. He scowled and looked back at the Avatar, catching the boy's cool grey eyes with his own and he knew that he was at a crossroads.

Everything seemed to slow down around him as he considered his options, knowing that the next decision that he would make would shape the man he was to become. He could get the Avatar… but at what cost? Unlike his father, he was not willing to sacrifice needless lives just to obtain a goal.

He gave the order to turn away, to get the ship to safety. Behind him, he heard the relieved sighs of his men. Peripherally, he could see his uncle nodding sagely, as if he knew all along that would be the decision his nephew would make.

Zuko often thought his uncle placed too much faith in him. He ignored his uncle and scowled. His eyes were locked on the Avatar, watching him disappear above the clouds and taking with him his hopes for redemption.

But at least his men would be safe.

* * *


	12. Predictions

Drabble: Predictions  
Word Count: 376  
Pairing: A/K – one-sided ;). Couldn't help myself after this last episode… don't hate me ;)  
Warning: Spoliers for episode 14, 'The Fortune Teller'

* * *

Aunt Woo's words echoed in her head, giving her hope and making her smile. With all that had been going on, she never even thought that she'd ever fall in love, or meet someone special. Yet, she would… she would marry and have several children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren! Aunt Woo had predicted a bright and cherry future for her – one which seemed almost impossible, considering the current state of the world.

And yet, she grabbed onto that prediction desperately, with her eyes wide shut and trembling fingers.

She was fated to marry a powerful bender. The idea made her giddy; filled her with hope and she walked around in a daze, wondering what he might be like.

Was he handsome? Was he tall? An earth bender, maybe? Perhaps even a water bender? Someone from the northern tribe that she hadn't met yet?

Who was this man who was going to sweep her off her feet?

For the entire day, she trailed after Aunt Woo like a besotted fan, hoping to learn more about her future husband, oblivious to everyone else.

It wasn't until later that day that she began to have doubts as to the validity of the old woman's predictions.

She watched her best friend accomplish an impossible feat with the fluidity and grace that only a master bender possessed as the boy pushed back the flow of lava threatening to destroy them. 

"You know, I sometimes forget what a _powerful bender_ that kid is…"

The words startled her; hit her like ten tons of flowing magma and brought with them a heavy dose of reality. The color drained from her face and she caught herself staring at her best friend in a new light… the boy who would be the Avatar…

…and perhaps (she gulped)… one day, her husband…

"Yes, I suppose he is…" She responded, internally wincing as the image of a tall, handsome stranger with dark hair and green eyes vanished from her mind only to be replaced by a boy she well knew with gangly limbs, a goofy smile and – worst of all -- who was _shorter than her_…

She swallowed thickly, and decided that for once, Sokka was right. It was foolish to place so much faith in predictions.

* * *

tee hee hee... aww, c'mon, you guys know I love A/K as a pairing, but isn't that an awful lot for Katara to swallow at 14? I think it'd be tantamount to being told that you've gotta kiss your brother (ewww) ;) FYI, for those who are waiting, the next chapter of AP should be up in a few days… have been fighting a case of pneumonia for over a week, so haven't felt up to working on it :(

* * *


	13. Words of Advice

Drabble: Words of Advice

This was a (albeit, late) response to Challenge #24: Crossover on TheAvatar100 livejournal. Basically, combine two universes into a drabble... thus, it is AU and if you don't watch Inuyasha, you won't get the joke :)

Word Count: 676

* * *

He's had some odd, prophetic dreams in the past. In fact, there have been several times that his dreams contained some words of advice from one or another of his former incarnations. 

However, the character that presently occupied his dreamscape with him was not any previous incarnation of himself. Of that, he was most certain.

"...should have known better than to partake of Mushin's 'special brew'..." Aang's dream interloper mumbles under his breath.

The strange man raises his hand to his forehead and groans. Belatedly, Aang realizes that the hand is wrapped in prayer beads and he relaxes somewhat. The stranger's outfit is unfamiliar, but it is obvious he is a holy man of some sort.

"...Are you an air monk?"

As he asks, Aang finds himself suddenly surrounded by a group of scantily clad maidens. He begins to wonder if he's actually in his dream after all, since none of them look like Katara.

"Air monk?" The other man asks confusedly, glancing briefly at the hand that is wrapped in prayer beads. "Not really... I am just a simple servant of Buddha... "

The stranger observes the new comers to the dreamscape with much interest before smiling and reaching for the nearest giggling girl.

"Ladies, there is plenty of me to share..."

Aang's left eye twitches.

"Hey! This is my dream... and some prophet you are. I'm waking up now..."

As he speaks, the women fade away, leaving his original dream interloper a little disappointed.

"Well... there was no need for you to do _that_."

Aang glares, but doesn't respond. In the back of his mind he wonders why Katara didn't show up... and then he is overwhelmingly appalled when she does appear; as scantily clad as the other girls were.

She smiles and beckons to him and he freezes.

The other monk whistles.

"Ah... I understand now. Is this one yours?"

His blush, in his dream, is as purple as the other monk's robes.

"It is good to see someone so young who appreciates true beauty..."

He doesn't comment. He's afraid that if he opens his mouth, his tongue will hit the ground.

"Yet, she rejects you..."

He doen't answer the too-savvy dream interloper (who is starting to really annoy him -- why can't he wake up?) But his silence is answer enough...

The older monk nods his head in understanding. His violet eyes sparkle with mirth, and Aang wonders if it is even possible for someone to be quite that... infuriating.

"Well... I can help you with that!"

Despite himself and against every possible instinct that screams otherwise, Aang looks hopeful and nods his head.

"If you really want to get her attention, this is what you need to do..."

* * *

When he wakes, Katara is sitting next to the fire. Sokka is nowhere to be seen. 

He mulls the advice he was given over and over in his head before he acts. It seemed like odd advice to follow, but... his dream prophets were usually helpful. How could this one be otherwise?

On shaky legs, he approaches her. He clears his throat and wraps an arm around her --ignoring the startled look in her eyes-- and gives her his sauciest smile.

"Katara... will you bear my children?"

* * *

He finds himself knocked back into the dreamscape. It takes a minute for him to realize that the girl he loved just clobbered him over the head in response to his question. Angered, he looks around for his so-called prophet and finds him sitting with... 

with…

With _Jun._

In his _lap_.

"You have met some interesting people, my young friend. This one reminds me of my lady," The older monk smiles appreciatevely at the girl in his lap before levelling Aang with a bored look. "What are you doing back here so soon? Didn't you follow my advice?"

"Yes, and she clocked me..."

"Good... then it worked."

_"WHAT?"_

"You now have her undivided attention."

Aang makes a mental note to never, ever accept advice from people who find the likes of Jun _interesting_.

* * *


	14. Predictions she can do without!

This is another drabble for theavatar100 livejournal group... the challenge was to take one scene... and change it :)

This is for all you non shippers ;)

**TITLE:** Predictions she can do without!  
**AUTHOR:** whirleeq  
**WORDCOUNT:** 129  
**WARNINGS:** None  
**CHALLENGE:** #25, Rewriting History

* * *

"So… do you see anything interesting in my love line?"

She has been anxiously waiting to ask that question. Her heart is pounding rapidly and her eyes are wide and eager and fixed on those of Aunt Wu's, as the seer traces the lines in her palm knowingly with aged and slightly calloused fingers.

It takes all of her concentration to keep her hand steady as she waits to hear what the future has in store for her.

"I see a great romance for you…"

Katara's heart skips a whole beat. She sucks in a breath; the scent of jasmine from Aunt Wu's incense is heady and strong, and she feels a small amount of vertigo.

"The man you're going to marry…"

_Breathe._

"…is a somewhat unlucky cabbage merchant."

* * *


	15. Nightmares

Wow... my last drabble actually won the theavatar100 challenge! Yay!

**TITLE:** Nightmares  
**AUTHOR:** whirleeq  
**WORDCOUNT:** 120  
**WARNINGS:** Slash/Shonen-ai**  
PAIRING:** ZxA

* * *

"No… father… _don't_."

The words are mumbled into the pillow. He is shaking, grasping at the sheets; his body covered in a thin sheen of sweat as he relives the nightmare – nay, memory – that plagues him night after night. In the darkness, he reaches, grabs the warm body next to him and holds tight.

Sleepily, he places kisses against soft, smooth skin; halfway caught between the fleeting, haunting memory of his dream and the warm arms of his lover.

"I'll find him, father. I promise you."

His arms become a prison for the one trapped within. He is desperate to hold on and too afraid to let go.

And in his sleep the Avatar whimpers; perfectly content to remain caught.

* * *


	16. The Deal

**TITLE:** The Deal  
**AUTHOR:** whirleeq**  
WORDCOUNT:** 408**  
WARNINGS:** None**  
PAIRING:** None... but Zula/Aang would be rathar interesting...

* * *

"Are you ready to make a deal now?" 

Her tone is bored and nonchalant as she stares at the recently applied bright red coat of paint on the nails of her right hand, not really expecting an answer. The prisoner is stubborn and though she asks him the same question every day, he has yet to answer her.

She knows it's only a matter of time. Two months in the darkest part of the Fire Lord's dungeons can break the strongest of wills, and the one before her is only a boy.

"What do you want?"

Oh-ho! She reminds herself to thank the guard for withholding his rations for the past two days and turns to face the prisoner, quirking a delicately shaped eyebrow (she is ridiculously proud that she has two instead of one, unlike he-who-should-have-remained-banished) while still maintaining a practiced look of indifference.

"Kill my brother and I'll ensure that your friends have their freedom."

In the dark, she can see the tired grey eyes widen just slightly and she takes a small measure of amusement from it.

The child is such an innocent.

There is silence from the other side of the room, where the boy is shackled against the wall. Then a cough, a sputter and a _'no'_ growled so low that if she were not listening intently, she might have missed it.

She shakes her head sadly, not at all understanding the young avatar. It must be such a burden for one with such power to be strapped with such a high regard for the life of others – even the lives of his enemies.

Zula has no such burden.

"You do know that your friends are scheduled to be executed at the end of the week, don't you?"

He whimpers and she smiles, lifting her other hand to study. Her smile is quickly transformed into a scowl, however, when she notices that the paint on her pinky finger has peeled slightly from the chilly, humid air of the dungeon.

Her next words are laced with spite.

"I think the girl is set to go first, followed by the boy. Execution by fire – oh, and I heard that it takes water benders twice as long as normal people to die that way."

Silence, but she smiles anyway. She can _hear_ his resolve breaking as she pierces it neatly with lies and freshly painted fingernails.

"I'll ask again. Are you ready to make a deal?"

* * *

A/N: I love Zula. We haven't even seen her yet, and I love her... or I love the _IDEA _of her -- pampered, evil princess who can kick ass. Anyway, here's a little drabble featuring Zula and Aang (not romantically, although that would be such an interesting crack!pairing, ne?) 

Oh, and just one more thing... I'm normally a Kataang shipper, but these drabbles will contain all sorts of of pairings, including slash pairings on occasion and just plain bizarre pairings (if you haven't quite figured that out by now). I consider the drabbles to be a bit of an experiment. If I write about a pairing you don't like or support, just skip over it and go on to the next one. Hopefully, you'll find something you like in here:)

And speaking of Kataang...

--insert shameless self promotion--

I've stared a livejournal group for this ship: www . livejournal . com / community / aangxkatara -- if you are a livejournal user (and a kataang shipper), come and join! Also, for those of u waiting on my other story -- AP -- it will be updated by this weekend (I have half the chapter written already).

Oh, and Cala: Am too! ;)

TTFN,

--julie 


	17. Home

**Drabble:** Home  
**Author:** whirleeQ  
**Challenge #28:** Unseen  
**Word Count:** 351  
**Warnings:** Slight (very slight) implied Z/A

* * *

_Home._

For Zuko, it once seemed like such an obtainable goal, on that day when he first laid eyes on the child Avatar. The boy could not have seen more than twelve or thirteen summers and yet had somehow lived for over a century. And when the boy Avatar allowed his men to bring him onto his ship, bound at the wrists like a common thief, the fire that always burned inside of him was (briefly) tempered with the knowledge that he would soon be going _home._

Yet, the boy who was so much more than that had escaped him then, and every time since. But he persevered – the chase gave him purpose, gave him life and brought him closer to _home._ And together, they played a merry game of cat and mouse that had lasted through the death of his father and the fall of the fire nation.

Now he is the Lord of a war-ravaged nation. He spends his time picking up the pieces of the land that saw his birth and the death of his father. And while redemption in the eyes of his father might be forever unattainable to him, he is now once again firmly situated in the land of his birth. But no one questions or challenges him and there is no excitement to be found in serving a people who are _tired._

At night, the fire inside of him blazes with discontent; the truth that he does not wish to acknowledge almost tangible in its intensity.

Home was no longer the grand palaces and great cities of the fire nation. Instead it was the chase, the challenges, the blue-grey eyes of his one time adversary who was forever out of reach for him now; flitting somewhere between nations, picking up the same pieces he was, but yet under a truce that would forever keep them charitable towards each other.

Home – not a place, but a concept; something unseen and intangible – was forever lost to him.

And it was at night in the arms of a faceless concubine that he mourned its loss the most.  



	18. Drabble Madness 1thru6

**AN: **The girls on lj are crazy... a couple of them started this 'thirty drabbles before the season finale' -- which is tommorow -- and I couldn't help but join in on the fun, although I doubt I will actually finish. Here are my first six; all of them from challenges posted to the group and all of them 100 words exactly. (And you wonder why I didn't beta read chapter 9 of AP all that well the first time around...)

HELP! I AM A VICTIM OF DRABBLE MADNESS!

* * *

**Challenge #1:** Vision  
**Title:** Choices  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Author:** whirleeQ  
**Warnings:** none 

Kanna sat in front of the seer's crystal orb in a chair formed of ice, idly fingering the necklace that Pakku gave her and ignoring the hollow feeling in her chest. The small, elegantly carved disc foretold her future far better than any seer could, so why was she here?

"You will have a choice. Stay and you will live a pampered life, never wanting for anything."

The crystal between them darkened.

"Leave, and you might face many hardships. Beyond that, I cannot see."

A predictable life as Pakku's wife or something _else…_

There was no choice to be made.

* * *

**Challenge #2:** Undercover  
**Title:** Huntress  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Author:** whirleeQ  
**Warnings:** none

The dark of the night was her cloak. Upon her beast mount she moved like a great cat; swiftly and silently through the woods, stalking her prey. Her heart beat fast beneath her chest; her breathing was heavy and hot with anticipation. She was something from a nightmare and she reveled in it as much as she reveled in the stunned surprise of her prey when cornered.

They would look at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. The bounty hunter known simply as Jun (the androgyny of her name has always suited her well) was not a hunter, but a _huntress._

_

* * *

_

**Challenge #3:** Out of Context  
**Title:** Let it Burn  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Warnings:** CORNY as hell – and badly written Zutara from a non-shipper ;)  
**Notes:** References Buffy episode 'Once More With Feeling'

The antics of his sister and her boyfriend were cause enough for his stomach to roll in disgust. And the _singing…_ it was too much for him, and Sokka's hands clamped over his ears with a tremendous slapping sound that almost (but not quite) drowned it all out.

"So I will walk through the fire, 'Cuz where else can I turn?  
I will walk through the fire, And let it..."

"Katara will you _KNOCK IT OFF_?"

Sokka wished he didn't say anything at all, because the dreamy look that immediately replaced her off-key lyrics was just oh so much _worse_.

* * *

**Challenge #4:** Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends  
**Title:** Consequences  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Author:** whirleeQ (who is really trying to keep these all at exactly 100 words ;) ).

The gods once argued over the division of the land.

"I flow through the rivers and seas, bringing the land its lifeblood," claimed Water.

"I am the solid strength under the feet of every man and beast that roams the world," claimed Earth.

"I provide my gift indiscriminately to beast, man and plant. There would be none without me," claimed Air.

"I can easily bring devastation to all."

Fire's threatening words caused a great war between the four elementals. Today, the Great Divide remains a scar upon the world as a reminder of what can happen when the elementals fight.

* * *

**Challenge #5:** Games  
**Title:** Learning to play  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Author:** whirleeQ

He sipped his tea quietly while his nephew's eyes narrowed in frustration.

"Your move, Prince Zuko."

His nephew halfheartedly moved one of the tiles recklessly across the board, placing it within range for capture.

Iroh took the tile with one of his own.

"You know, you should think of the consequences of your moves before you make them."

In a fit of irrational anger, Zuko flipped the board over. Iroh watched dispassionately as the pieces scattered onto the hard metal floor of the deck.

"Don't tell me how to play, Uncle."

Iroh shook his head sadly.

"Alas, someone has to."

* * *

**Challenge #6:** Smiles  
**Title:** Rain  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Warnings:** none  
**Notes:** Kataangy fluff

It often rains at night and the cold water seeps into their tent (despite the tarp); soaking everyone and everything and making her and her brother miserable. She has no patience for the element when it soaks through her sleeping bag and sticks to her clothes.

And yet, the only one that it does not seem to bother is the one who is not born to it. He always sleeps through the rain with a small smile on his face as he snuggles closer.

Katara often wonders to herself how he could take so much comfort from the unpredictable rain.


	19. Drabble Madness 7,8,9,23,24

**AN: **Here are challenges 7-9 and also 23 & 24 (just because I don't think I'm going to finish before 8 pm tonight and no one has done those particular two yet ;) ). Hope you enjoy, and forgive me in advance for 9 -- it is very sick and twisted and just plain wrong. Fun, fun fun!

* * *

**Challenge #7:** Family  
**Author:** whirleeQ   
**Title:** Family **  
Word Count:** 100

When he was four, he was left in the care of strangers by parents he could no longer remember. Over the years, he made friends at the temple but they were no more his family than the couple who had abandoned him. Of course, there was Gyasto, but he was more of a mentor than father.

But he did have a family.

Sometimes, Katara pats him on the head like a child and he hates it. And Sokka leaves animal bones lying around the campsite after a meal.

He loves his family and wouldn't trade them for all the world.

* * *

**  
Challenge #8:** Secrets **  
Author:** whirleeQ **  
Title:** Vows **  
Word Count:** 100 

'I will not fail you again, father.'

He has repeated the same vow over and over again in his head so often that he has almost come to believe it. And yet, in his room there is a chest that holds a mask – one which, if discovered, would brand him a traitor in his father's eyes.

There is only one other that knows of the chest and its contents. His uncle does not judge him, but he doesn't need to. Zuko only needs to see the chest that holds his one terrible secret to know that he's broken his vow.

**

* * *

**

**Challenge #9:** Master **  
Author:** whirleeQ **  
Title:** At any price **  
Word Count:** 100 **  
WARNINGS:** This is so very wrong… so very, very wrong (ducks and hides)

It was no secret that she'd do anything, absolutely anything at all to learn from him.

"You look so much like your grandmother. Do you know that, my dear?"

She smiles and nods and ignores the sickly churning in her belly as he squeezes her shoulder a little too tightly and pulls her flush against him.

"Kanna was such a good student, too. I know you will be the same."

The hot breath against her neck smells like raw fish, but she ignores it because she needs to learn.

"Yes, Master."

To be a master herself, she'd pay any price.

* * *

**Challenge #23:** Culture Clash  
** Author:** whirleeQ  
** Title:** Tradition  
** Word Count: **100  
** Notes:** Kataang silliness

"Absolutely, positively and enthusiastically, _no_."

Aang looked at her with trembling lips and for just a moment, looked very much like the twelve year old boy she had once freed from an iceberg instead of the tall seventeen year old she was promised to.

"But… but… but it's tradition!"

"Listen. The day you bring me a freshly killed seal for us to feast on together is the day I will allow anyone to tattoo any part of my body."

Aang looked as if he were going to be sick.

"A freshly killed seal?"

Katara grinned triumphantly.

"Of course. It's tradition!"

* * *

**Challenge #24: **Crossover  
** Author:** whirleeQ  
** Title:** Familiar  
** Word Count: **100  
** Notes:** I am such a buffy fan, and this will make absolutely no sense to anyone who isn't a slave to this wonderful creation of Joss Whedon. :) 

There were many things in the Magic Box that caught her eye. And, hey, well it wasn't entirely her fault if the items somehow found their way into her pockets or purse. Really, if just one of them would give her a second glance, then perhaps she wouldn't feel the need to take what wasn't hers.

Except the four items she had in her hand were hers. She couldn't explain it, but they were _familiar_.

She pulled the little string and watched the little wooden helicopter fly across the room with a wistful smile.

"Dawn – what are you doing?"

"Nothing."


	20. Drabble Madness 13thru17

**AN: **Five more... and so not done. O'ell, maybe I can finish by 8 pm PST ;).

* * *

**Drabble:** Destiny  
**Challenge 13:** Childhood Dreams  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Author:** whirleeQ 

Once, before he learned his destiny, he had wanted to become a juggler. He remembered watching the entertainers as a child, bringing laughter and praise from the many children (and even adults) who would circle around and watch.

Some of them were even fire benders. He remembered that they were the best ones of all; the most exciting to watch.

Of course, from birth, such trivial endeavors were never in his cards. Not that he complained – his destiny was to serve the people and that was far more important than entertaining.

Besides, it was not everyone that could sell cabbages.

* * *

**Drabble:** Regrets  
**Challenge 14:** Regrets  
**Word Count:** 115 (I like it too much to edit it down.)   
**Author:** whirleeQ 

When he lived, there was nothing at all that he regretted.

He had a job to do, a destiny to fulfill and in the latter years of his life, a despot to fight. He supposed he could have regretted the fact that he did not succeed in defeating Sozen, but he now knows that it wasn't his destiny to do so.

The one whose destiny it is stands before him, seeking answers. He is himself again, this time serving air, but there is something different this time around.

It is in that brief moment before he returns the body to his current self that he sees her.

Perhaps he has something to regret after all.

* * *

**Drabble: **Caught  
**Challenge 15:** Pairings (Discovery)  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Author: **whirleeQ  
**Warnings: **Mild smut, slashedy slash slash, pairing surprise ;) 

He probably should have expected this.

Lips softer than feathers (and much softer than he would have expected) map out the contours of his face almost reverently. Two strong arms hold him fiercely, as if afraid he'd run if let go.

And, he supposed, that was a rational fear – it was what he'd been doing all along.

A sword calloused hand touches him –there-- and he whimpers, wishing his voice was deeper.

"I've finally caught you."

He offers his neck – wasn't he taught never to expose his neck to an adversary? He can neither think nor remember – and smiles.

"Yeah."

* * *

**Drabble:** Tactics  
**Challenge 16:** Speculations (in this case, how is Zula introduced)  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Author: **whirleeQ  
**Warnings:** uh… mention of breasts. Of course, I should have a warning on my warning now because I just mentioned it here… uh… sorry, I'm lame and drabbling so much that my head is going to explode. So… yeah. Anyway, on with the drabble. 

"Really now, Admiral. I think that you are spending far too much energy on planning."

The words fall from her lips like candied poison. She smiles, stretching sinuously for his benefit and it works: his eyes trace the supple curves of her petite frame almost involuntarily.

She smiles even more when he scowls.

"I mean no disrespect by this."

The sarcasm dripping from his lips belies his words.

"But what would you know of tactics, Princess?"

Her golden eyes twinkle. She yawns and his gaze lands firmly on her breasts.

"More than you'd think, Admiral Zhao. More than you'd think…"

* * *

**Drabble:** A devil's bargain.  
**Challenge 17: **Avatars Past, Future, Never  
**Word Count:** 150  
**Author:** whirleeQ 

His brother is lying on the floor with an arrow through his chest. His mother – his gentle, loving mother is screaming in the courtyard.

He doesn't even want to think about what they are doing to his beautiful older sister.

His father must be dead by now too and that means that the battle has already been lost.

He pulls at the ropes binding his arms together, knowing it is useless, and prays.

When the rebels come back to him, he is smiling – it is a fair bargain he made with the gods, he thinks. Ever will he be forced to walk the mortal plane, but he has power now. It is fire he uses to take his revenge.

It is worth it.

A thousand lives pass. He watches many thousand loved ones die, knowing that he will never join them in spirit.

He knows now that he was wrong.


	21. Pride and Laundry

**AN: **Well, I took a well deserved drabble break after my last marathon effort. Nevertheless, the bug has once again bitten me. Here's my latest drabble, written for theavatar100 lj list.

* * *

**Title:** Pride and Laundry  
**Author:** whirleeQ  
**Word Count:** 200  
**Challenge:** #38, Domestic Chores 

As a child, a servant girl used to clean up after him. His clothes, covered with ash from his lessons, would be returned to him daily, clean and pressed. She would also pick up his many toys and put them away so that he could easily find them again, if he wished. He thought it a waste, since he would never again wear the clothes she had washed so thoroughly, nor would he play with his toys once they had lost their novelty.

And yet, for as much as she was a part of his every day life, the only thing that he can remember about her is the way that her hands looked; callused and wrinkled and worn.

His shirt is still grimy, he notes with disgust, as he removes it from the cold stream after painstakingly scrubbing it against a piece of bark he uses as an impromptu washboard. Later, he will, with the aid of a rock and a little firebending, attempt to sharpen the blade that he carries, since it has been dull now for a while.

He looks down at his hands, sees the calluses, and once again marvels on how far he has fallen.


	22. Her Kisses

**AN:** Okay, I know it has been forever since I updated anything at all... but muses are fickle beasts :)

* * *

**Title:** Her Kisses  
**Author:** whirleeQ  
**Warning:** Slight season 2 finale spoilers...

Her kisses, like their relationship, have changed over time.

The first time she kissed him, it was innocent – a slight peck on the cheek – and while his cheeks burned and his heart pounded loudly in his chest, he knew she saw him only as a boy and that tempered it.

The second time she kissed him, it was brief and fumbling and awkward; yet the earth seemed to slip away from him, and he thought he might fall. It was when he saw her pulling away, the soft underground illumination revealing a soft blush and a nervous smile mirroring his own, that he knew he had already fallen.

The third time she kissed him, her tears flowed like water against his face. He was cold and shivering and weak, even in the warm heat of her arms. Yet the feel of her wet tears against his skin gave him the strength to hold on; to have hope, when he felt like drowning in despair.

The fourth time she kissed him, she knocked the wind right out of him. He didn't mind, though. He felt as light as air; happy and victorious, surrounded by the people that he loved.

The fifth time she kissed him, he felt himself drowning in all things her. Slowly yet steadily, the stream of kisses began to flow between them. His heart raced, the earth shook, the wind whipped her hair all around him, and between them, there was _fire_


End file.
